Gordon Brown admits to misleading Chilcot

So, Gordon Brown has started to backtrack on the assertions he made at the Chilcot inquiry. No surprise there then.

He has today been forced to admit that he had misled the official inquiry into the Iraq War when insisting the defence budget had risen in real terms every year under Labour.

Since his appearance in front of Chilcot, his evidence at the inquiry had been repeated challenged by military chiefs and top MoD civil servants, not to mention defence pundits in the media (except the Daily Mirror, of course); they all seemed to have a different recollection of events from Gordon.

At PM Questions today, when confronted with Commons figures which proved that the defence budget had been cut 4 times during his chancellorship, he was forced to admit he had been economical with the truth.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said of Gordon's disclosure: 'This is a humiliating climbdown for Gordon Brown as his attempt to rewrite history has failed and his fantasy figures have been exposed. He has made repeated and fundamentally false claims, misleading Parliament, the public and, worst of all, the armed forces and their families."

I expect that this will be only the first of many confessions to be squeezed from Mr Brown. He may well be summonsed to appear before Chilcot again and this time he may not get away with it so easily.

Let's hope he comes up before the bench before the elections.

The Mail: Brown admits defence budget did NOT rise every year - as he claimed to Iraq inquiry

Sky News: PM Writes To Iraq Inquiry About Defence Cash

LPPV catfight (2): Ocelot or Supacat?

It was at last year's DSE International Exhibition (see Aquilavictrix LPPV: Orcelot v SupaCat) that the mittens came off in the contest between Force Protection's Ocelot and Supacat's SPV400 to win the contract for the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) that will replace the Army's much criticised Snatch Land Rover. The two contenders have been undergoing engineering and operational trials at test facilities at Millbrook and Aldershot and a decision on the winner is expected by August with a military in-service date the following year. Funds will be provided through the Urgent Operational Requirements process.

Back in Spetember 2009 the MoD was saying that they were initially looking to place orders for 400 vehicles. Needless to say, Gordon Brown has now halved that. Continuing his 12 year jihad against the Armed Forces, the prime minister has taken another swipe of his axe to the Army's funding and announced that now only 200 would be ordered.

Funnily enough and with true labour spin, he tried to make his announcement sound as if he was promising 200 extra vehicles rather than what he was really doing which was to provide 200 fewer! The hypocrisy and duplicity of this man is unbelievable!

Brown's announcement comes in the wake of the barrage of criticism that he and his fellow ministers received at the inquiry into the deaths of the four soldiers killed when their poorly protected Snatch Land Rover was hit by an IED. This decision of Brown's to actually halve the number of Snatch vehicles being replaced, is therefore particularly callous and sinister coming as it does at this time.

DefenseNews: 2 Vehicles Vie for U.K. Army LPPV Award

Army Cadet Force seeks support from the Service Community

The government may have done a (welcomed) U-turn and reinstated the TA budget; they have not done the same with the Army Cadet Force and the £4million

cuts made in this year's ACF budget remain in force. The Army Cadet Force Association is now very concerned that, with the inevitable squeeze on the Army budget, this year's cuts may be repeated again next year - or even worse. This would have a seriously damaging impact on the facilities and opportunities available to the UK's 47,000 Army cadets and, importantly, on the resolve of the 8,500 adult volunteers to continue, particularly with the reductiion in instructors' paid training days and annual and weekend camps.

The ACF is a valuable training ground not only for future Army intake but also for the country's young people as a whole. The ACF helps teenages develop personally, physically and socially by providing challenging and adventurous opportunities in a structured, disciplined environment. Through the ACF young people learn the core values of self discipline, respect for others and team work. In other words the ACF teaches our young people the personal and social skills which our schools are lamentably failing to do.

Indeed up until recently Brown, Balls, Ainsworth and Co. had been announcing that the government had plans to expand the ACF and had been extolling the benefits the ACF could bring to children from all backgrounds.

The Army Cadet Force Association rightly says that each year the Army's cadets put a great deal of effort into supporting the Service community and Service charities. It, in turn, is now seeking all the support that it can get to increase awareness of the dangers that a repeat of this year's cuts would have on the ACF movement.

Army Cadet Force Association

Army Cadets website

MoD to end secret research programmes

This is a busy time of the year for companies wishing to get their hands on lucrative defence research funding.

Last week the Centre for Defence Enterprise at Harwell showcased several projects which have already received government funding. Incorporating a range of technologies, these projects aim to ensure that UK forces "will have the battle-winning edge in current and future conflicts".

They include

• textiles that could be made into uniforms and used to power weapons, radios and charge batteries;
• unmanned surveillance systems that could stay airborne for upto 3 months;
• a portable solar-powered battery to increase power at FOBs;
• turret-based camera to provide wide-angled surveillance images;
• 3D persistent surveillance systems;
• I'm getting lost here so visit:-
• NDS: The Appliance of Science to Benefit Frontline Troops
  

Next month the MoD will be hosting its annual Defence Research conference and exhibition at the ICC in Birmingham. The main partner in this enterprise is our old friend QinetiQ - they seem to have an influence over much of MoD spending these days.

The message behind Defence Research 2010 is that the MoD will for the first time be opening up its entire £400million annual research budget to private industry and universities. So, no more secret military research programmes.

Defence Research 2010 website
MoD: Defence Suppliers Research Information Portal

Gen. Dannatt fears cuts in defence programmes

CGS General Sir Richard Dannatt today urged the Government not to betray Britain's Armed Forces by cutting the Defence Budget.Gen. Dannatt has fought long and hard to make sure that the guys on the front line have at last started to get the kit and equipment they need to fight the Taliban.
While continuing to press Hash Brown and Co to send out the additional troops considered necessary to wage an effective war in Afghanistan, The General has now opened up another front, this time against anticipated budget cuts.

It's being reported in today's Sun that the much heralded £multi-billion accommodation improvement programme, FRES and even medical facilities are under threat from the Treasury. The newspaper quotes The General as saying: “My biggest fear now is in the time of recession, with a real squeeze on government spending, that the extra money that has been put in will now be raided out of those programmes."

He added: “One of our catchphrases is ‘Be the Best’. Well, I think we really do have amongst the best, and it’s just a great privilege to be their leader. It’s a fine and honourable thing to be a British soldier. I think they're fantastic people. It’s also a fine and honourable thing the public has done to get behind our soldiers. They are the best supporting the best.”

Unfortunately Gen. Dannatt is retiring in August; let's hope that his successor takes as strong a line as he has when dealing with our self-serving politicians and bureaucrats.

The Sun: Hands off!

Bleak future for FRES

Although Chancellor Darling has so far left the Defence Budget for 2009-10 more or less intact (it shouldn't be too hard for the MoD to find the £315million in efficiency savings it's offered up), the Treasury has made it clear that purchases under the Urgent Operational Requirement scheme will be limited to £635million this year, £265million less than 2008-09.

The real bad news comes in 2010-11 when the Treasury has already revealed that the Defence Budget will be slashed by £2billion from £38.7bn to £36.7bn, a cut of over 5%.

Major RAF procurement programmes are likely to face the brunt of the cuts:

• It now appears likely that the planned purchase of Airbus A400M military transport planes will be ditched and the far cheaper Lockheed C-130 Hercules will be ordered instead. This switch alone would save £1billion over the 25 aircraft being purchased.
• The long awaited, much over budget Nimrod MRA4 replacement programme may also face the axe with a cheaper, off-the-shelf US model being purchased instead.
• Defence analysts also believe that the number of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters being ordered will be halved from 150 to 75-80.

Although Defence Secretary John Hutton says he is adamant that current operations will not be jeopardised by a shortage of cash, the Army is unlikely to escape the cuts with the ill-fated Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) likely once again to be kicked into touch.
This is just the first round in what is sure to be a long drawn out, bloody battle over dwindling public funds.

MoD has to ask for more to pay for improved troop protection

The efforts made by the MoD to improve the level of protection provided to UK forces on the ground in Afghanistan has led to a major increase in the amount of money the MoD is having to ask from the Treasury this year.

Last November, the MoD said that it would need an additional £3.7billion to cover the costs of the wars in Iraq (£1.4b) and Afghanistan (£2.3b) this year.

Now in February the MoD has had to revise its forecast for 2008/09 to almost £4.6billion - that's 25% up on the figure of three month's ago.

These figures also represent a 50% increase on the costs for 2007/08.

The extra cash is not only needed for improved troop protection, particularly new armoured vehicles, but also to cover the likely cost of the equipment that will be left behind in Iraq when UK forces are withdrawn later in the year.

Of course this is just small change when compared with the amount of cash the Government has been spending to bail out its friends in the City.

The Telegraph: Cost of war in Iraq and Afghanistan rises to £4.5bn
also
The Times: British cost of Iraq and Afghanistan reaches £13bn

Dannatt challenges Brown on soldiers' pay

Who's worth more to the country: the guy on the left or the one on the right?

Head of the Army, General Dannatt today threw down the gauntlet and challenged the Government on the low level of pay currently paid to Britain's troops. Drawing comparisons with public sector workers Gen. Dannatt said a frontline soldier, who everyday risks his life in the service of his country, is paid less than a London traffic warden. He called for above inflation pay rises over the next few years to stem the flow of soldiers leaving the Army and challenged the Government to get their priorities sorted.

The General commented: "Servicemen go on operations knowing they are putting their lives on the line. It is very hard to put a price on that. ... To make sure that we have Armed Services – in my case an Army – populated by motivated and well-trained people, we have got to look after their individual needs well enough. That means things like housing, pay, medical provision and general welfare facilities have got to be good."

The General's comments were supported by the chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, James Arbuthnot MP who said "Are we giving the defence of this country - and are we giving the men and women who risk everything, their lives and everything for us - enough priority? ..... I have come to the conclusion that we have not. We need to give them more priority."

Gordon Brown responded by promising that the Government will do "everything in our power" to help members of the armed forces.

Well you hold the purse strings, Gordon, so....... get it sorted!

Link> The Sun: Soldiers risk life yet earn less than a traffic warden
Link> BBC: Brown makes pledge on forces' pay
Link> BBC: For Queen, country and low pay?

Defence cuts: Here we go again!

According to the Sunday Times, the Army is set to pay the price for protecting the Future Aircraft Carriers (CVF) programme. The programme to build the two aircraft carriers is budgeted at £4billion and, judging by the MoD's track record, we can expect the final figure to be double that. The new carriers will be built in the Rosyth dockyard which is close to Gordon Brown's own constituency and where many of his constituents work. The current price tag for each carrier is £2billion which is the size of the hole which has opened up in the 2008/09 Defence budget.

To plug this hole Hash Brown has overruled defence chiefs and insisted that several major procurement projects be 'delayed'. These projects are:

• The Future Rapid Effects System (Fres), a new generation of armoured vehicles that was due to come into service next year - short-term saving £800million.
• The Future Integrated Soldier Technology (Fist) programme, an attempt to have every soldier networked to their HQ using information technology - saving £100million.
• A software upgrade designed to give the army’s Bowman communications system a battlefield tracking system to avoid friendly-fire attacks - saving £300million.
• Replacement of the nine lost or scrapped Hercules transport aircraft - saving £600million.
• Cancelling three Astute submarines and one Type-45 destroyer - already accepted by the RN as the price for saving the carriers.

So yet again it's the frontline troops who are going to be the losers; once again the Labour Government has betrayed the guys fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Link> The Times: Gordon Brown orders defence delays to plug £2bn hole

Pay rise for everyone in the Armed Forces - AFPRB implemented in full

All servicemen and women will see their basic pay go up by 2.6% and X-Factor pay will increase by 1% (from 13 to 14 per cent), Defence Secretary Des Browne announced today. These are the recommendations of the independent Armed Forces' Pay Review Body which the Government has accepted and will implement in full from 1 April 2008.

The increase will raise a private’s starting salary from £15,677 to £16,227. This still compares miserably with a police constable's starting salary which, at £21009, is 30% higher than that of a squaddie. Oh and a trainee firefighter gets £20,396 (26% higher).

Anyway, lets hope the MoD's new payroll system will be able to handle the increases.

Link> Mod: Pay rise for everyone in the Armed Forces

MoD: The Borrowers - new Lend Lease deal

A couple of weeks ago it was reported that the RAF has been buying secondhand Merlin heliocopters from Denmark. Last week we learnt that the RAF may be borrowing RC135 Rivet Joint spy planes from the USAF. And today we are told that the Army has had to go cap in hand to the US to see if they would lend some heavy machine guns needed urgently in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defence is apparently having to borrow spy planes from the US because it doesn't have the £600 million needed to provide a short-term replacement to the current R1 Nimrods. The R1s now have restrictions on their operational use due to faults identified by the inquiry into the Nimrod MR2 air disaster in 2006. The RAF sounds a little annoyed at this state of affairs - “I am incandescent with rage that we are even considering ditching what is a world-class, ‘gold standard’, war-winning capability in the name of economy and the dubious claimed benefits of greater interoperability with the USAF,” one insider said.
The Sun today published details from a leaked Army document reporting that UK forces are short of 400 heavy machine guns and numerous Minimi light machine guns. Training firing-ranges are being ramsacked to find guns and spares desparately needed on the frontline. Manroy, the suppliers, are busy shipping their stocks out to Saudi Arabia whose need, apparently, is greater than that of the British Army. The MoD has now arranged for Manroy to increase production but it will take until June to get levels back to what they should be. Meanwhile, approaches made to the US Army to "lends us a few" have been met with the rebutal "Lend Lease ended in 1945, pal".
But then again, perhaps this is the answer to the MoD's cash shortage: ask UKNDA if they would send Winston off to Washington to see if he could broker a new Lend Lease deal with the Yanks.

Link> The Times: RAF forced to borrow planes
Link> The Sun: Army runs out of machine guns

UK funds French mission to Chad while France.......

Because of the UK's commitments under the European Defence Agency rules British taxpayers are having to stomp up cash to finance France's "mission" to its former colony of Chad.

So there you have it:

• France, having withdrawn the few forces it did have helping British troops in Helmand, has just refused to provide little more than minimal assistance to its NATO allies fighting in Afghanistan.
• Britain, its military budgets being squeezed, is paying £5.9million towards the French-inspired EU military mission to Chad.

Nice one, Gordon.

Link> This is Cornwall: UK troops 'neglected'

£1 billion for Chelsea Barracks

Property developers have paid a record £959million for the Chelsea Barracks site. This is three times the Ministry of Defence's original estimate; no change here, then - the MoD invariably underestimates by a factor of three. The developers, the Candy brothers, plan to build 1,500 homes on the prime central London site. The MoD promises that the proceeds from the sale will go towards improving and repairing the residual military housing stock. However, you can bet the loot will form part of the £5 billion the Government has already pledged towards upgrading military accommodation rather than being in addition to it.

Link> The Times: Record £959m buys Chelsea Barracks for developers

The War Lords of Sleez

It's been reported in the Mirror that three retired military chiefs are being investigated by a "sleaze watchdog". It is alleged that the three War Lords used a House of Lords debate to demand more spending on the Armed Forces without having declared their own financial interests in the armaments industry.

This possibly compromising situation was noted in the article "Cui bono?" which appeared in the Defence of the Realm blog back in November.

Link> The Mirror: Military Lords in sleaze probe
Link> Defence of the Realm: cui bono?

Now MPs warn of 'overstretch'

The Defence Select Committee in its annual review has warned that the pressures brought about by increased military commitments are resulting in the Armed Forces finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the demands placed upon them and that this has been going on for seven of the last eight years.

Well, nothing new here then: the MPs are simply endorsing an already widely held view.
Their main points are:

• The high level of Britain's military commitments around the world has resulted in insufficient recovery and retraining periods being provided between operational tours of duty. Instead of the two years troops should expect, some units are getting little more than one. Not only that but it has been reported elsewhere that for some, mainly officers, the tours themselves are being extended beyond the six months. [The MoD is now understood to be considering following the US example and formally extending the tours of duty to up to 12 months.] Not only is this bad for morale and encouraging increasing numbers of experienced personnel to quit the forces early, the lack of adequate retraining is also undermining proficiency in new weapon systems.
• Massive cost overruns and delays on many capital projects are putting huge pressures on the MoD's already stretched budgets. The spiralling expenditure on ambitious weapons projects (Type 45 destroyers, Astute subs, Trident, CVF aircraft carriers, Eurofighter) is putting the screws on the money that's available for tactical equipment needed on the frontline (helicopters, radios, protected vehicles).
• There continue to be shortages within some specialist groups in all three Armed Services - the medical corps and bomb disposal units are reported as being seriously undermanned.
• Only 50% of Britain's armed forces are be free of "serious or critical weaknesses" at any one time; the target is 73% target.
• The MoD is failing to meet its recruitment targets.

The last decade has shown that the Government has continued to dump more and more commitments on Britain's Armed Forces while at the same time not increasing the resources needed to meet them.

Link> The Times: Troops march out of army careers
Link> The Mail: MPs warn armed forces are at breaking point
Link> The Guardian: MPs warn of spending cuts
Link> The Guardian : Ainsworth Rejects Claims Of Crisis
Link> BBC: Former troops discuss pressure claim

Two in three helicopters unfit for purpose

Just a few weeks ago the inquiry into the death of Cpl Mark Wright placed the blame on the absence of lifting equipment in the Chinook sent to medevac him. Today we learn that only a third of British helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan are fit for frontline operations. Of the 180 out there only 62 are fully operational and the rest are being cannibalized to keep these few in the air. These helicopters not only support the troops on the ground and provide safe transport (roads being vulnerable to IEDs) but are also vital for the speedy evacuation of the wounded to field hospitals.
Earlier this month it was also announced that the Defence Aviation and Repair Agency (Dara), which repairs British helicopters used in Iraq and Afghanistan, is to be privatised and sold off to Vector Aerospace, an Canadian company outside the control of the British Government. This sell-off is just the latest stage in a cost-cutting exercise begun by Hash Brown when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. Figures provided by the Ministry of Defence show that there has been a £1.4 billion cut in spending on helicopters during Brown's "stewardship".

Link> The Telegraph: Third of Army helicopters fit for the front-line
Link> The Guardian: Uproar over sale of helicopter repair agency to Canadian firm

MoD budget to be cut by £1.5billion: another betrayal

Well I suppose cynicism and dishonesty is what we've come to expect from this Labour Government. It was only a few weeks ago that Hash Brown was claiming to be the champion of the Armed Forces, in a re-write of history he was denying that he had presided over a decade of neglect and was even promising an increase in the MoD budget, would you believe. Well you were right not to; it was all the Brown Brothers' little joke. The defence budget is now going to be cut ...... by £1.5billion a year!
Following last July's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) part-time Defence Secretary Des Browne announced an annual £2.5billion increase in the defence budget for the next three years (1.5%). He said: "This CSR means an additional £7.7bn for Defence by 2011 - the longest period of sustained real growth in planned defence spending since the 1980s. It is evidence of the Government's commitment to defence and to the men and women who serve with the utmost bravery in our Armed Forces". The country is waging two major wars, defence equipment inflation is running as high as 8%, the MoD offices in Whitehall are being refurbished - a budget increase would be expected, wouldn't it?

The extra 150 Ridgback armoured vehicles for the Army, the new Typhoons and Joint Strike Aircraft for the RAF and new ships for the Royal Navy are now all under threat. The three Services will now have to fight it out for what money is left.

These cuts are to be made at a time when this sleazy Labour Government is pouring £billions into the pockets of its friends at Northern Rock. The cuts provide the real evidence of the Goverment's "commitment" to the Armed Forces.

Link> The Times: MoD forced to cut budget by £1.5bn
Link> The Telegraph: Gordon Brown's hollow seasonal greetings
Link> MoD: New Carriers confirmed in Defence budget increase

The Treasury has to spend £2.4m to improve its image

The Treasury, always keen to take the knife to the MoD's budget, is currently spending £2.4million per year on improving its image - on new logos, re-branding, marketing and PR staff.

According to The Sun:

• HM Revenue and Customs spent £390,000 on seven brand management staff plus £750,000 on a marketing team
• £130,000 was spent on “branding manuals”
• £400,000 went on seven full-time branding and marketing staff at the Office for National Statistics — an average of £61,000 a head.
• HM Revenue and Customs spent an estimated £44,000 on a style guide for staff.
• And the Royal Mint expects to spend £40,000 on staff guidelines for its new corporate identity later this year.
• The Treasury and its agencies also employ 57 public relations officers, but refused to reveal the overall cost.

That's one hell of a makeover. . . . . but then the Treasury does need it. Oh, and it does control the purse strings, after all.
Link> The Sun: Treasury's £2.4m on 'image'

MoD's lavish lifestyle

Here we go again! It's been reported in today's Telegraph that the MoD has been spending £thousands on "art" to decorate its Whitehall offices, has bought 3,150 chairs at £1,000 each and has spent £348,000 on 134 widescreen TVs! They've really got their priorities sorted, then: "we'll lounge around in our comfy chairs comtemplating art and watching TV and don't give a **** about leaking barracks and equipment shortages in the frontline".
Over the next decade, the MoD will be spending more than £75,000 for each top official at their Whitehall HQ on refurbishments; compare this with the £25,000 per head it is budgeting to spend on repairs to soldiers’ living quarters.
Link> The Telegraph: MoD buys art while essentials are cut
Link> The Times: MoD spends £2.3bn on Whitehall offices

Helping servicemen through their own front door

The government has now agreed to treat serving military personnel as "key workers" and therefore eligible to participate in the Homebuy scheme. The loans provided under this scheme increase buying power by a third and will hopefully enable more members of the Armed Forces to get a foot on the housing ladder.

Although this scheme will be of help to those who can afford to meet the mortgage and loan payments, it will probably do little to help the many veterans in this country who are currently homeless. Local councils must be encouraged to support ex-servicemen struggling to find accommodation. The relaxation of the "local connection" rules may go some way to improve eligibility for assistance but it is only by councils giving our veterans their rightful priority in the housing stakes that a real difference will be made. As the Parcels43 campaign Priority Housing4XForces says: "On leaving the forces the troops have a very different fight on their hands. The new fight is that to keep a roof over their heads. This is shameful. They shouldn't have to fight, or wait to be classed as homeless as many are"

Link> The Telegraph: Loans help forces to get on housing ladder
Link> Parcels43 - Supporting Our Troops
Link> 'Devil in detail' of home loan aid for military personnel, say Tories